Game Master's Journey

Christopher from Shark Bone Podcast joins me on the show to discuss the social contract for your tabletop RPG. We explain what a social contract is, and how you can use it to avoid problems before they start. We share a host of ideas and thoughts to help you nail down the social contract that will work for you and your own group. One of the jobs of a GM is to manage the table and the players and c...

This week I discuss my philosophy when it comes to alignment in D&D. This philosophy has some mechanical effects on the game which result in consequences for my world of Primordia. Removing any mechanical effects of alignment from the game  influences certain magic items as well as the deities and the outer planes. I explain how my exploration of alignment in fifth edition really helped m...

Although I’m a fan of how Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition uses xp budgets to build encounters, the system for handing out experience for character advancement is unfortunately broken. I describe the problem and offer a solution. I also discuss handing out xp for roleplaying and traps.

I've had many listeners ask my to do a review of the Star Wars RPGs by Fantasy Flight Games. Specifically, listeners want to know why I'm not running this game anymore. This week I discuss my opinions of the games and give as balanced a review of them as I can manage.

The PCs reenter the dungeon and finally reach the tomb of the Red Raven. They face their biggest challenge yet.

I get a lot of questions from listeners about worldbuilding and adventure and campaign design. There’s also been quite a bit of interest in my new Star Wars campaign. Today I set off again on the Obsidian Monolith to conclude my discussion of my Edge of the Empire campaign.

There are lots of GMs out there (including myself) who will tell you how you should run your game. Ultimately it's up to you to decide what works best for you and your game. Don't hesitate to blaze your own trail.

Ryan Chaddock joins me on the show today to discuss his 5e Kickstarter, Swans of Black, and the new OGL for D&D.

In this episode of the Primordia campaign actual play, we learn that sometimes the way to deal with undead is to insult and mock them. Things really start to go south, and then they go south some more.

Iorek earns the title Kill Stealer.

The PCs have leveled, so we start out with everyone describing their new abilities and spells. We also have a little bit of general 5e discussion, and then we get on with the adventure. Samson loses part of his soul. Oh well, he wasn’t using it.

This week I use your feedback to revisit the topics of encounter-based versus milestone xp and using random encounters in your game.

Iorek discovers a mysterious door, and things get real as the PCs face their toughest challenge yet.

Today I'm discussing three topics. First, I give my thoughts on awarding experience versus using a milestone method of advancement. I also talk about how I do "random" encounters. Finally I tackle the question, "Should the players always win?"

In this episode of my Primordia campaign, Raith and Azriel get naked, and we ponder whether we've gone astray from our hard core roots.

The PCs battle some scary and gross creatures in The Forgotten Tomb.

The adventures in Primordia continue. The PCs face a horde of zombies within the Forgotten Tomb.

Welcome to the fourth episode in my GM 101 series in which I answer the question, “How do I become a game master?” Today I set off again on the Obsidian Monolith to discuss sandbox versus plot-driven adventures. I also talk about how to get your players invested in your story, and how to find good, quality players online.

The first adventure in Primordia continues, as the PCs enter the Forgotten Tomb.

We begin the first adventure in Primordia. The PCs leave the city of Elandria to investigate rumors of monsters near a Forgotten Tomb.

We continue our discussion of characters, including our fifth PC. We then start with the first scene of the campaign.

We introduce the characters and tell a little about their backgrounds. Dwayne as Iorek, a Tiefling Wild Magic Sorcerer; Nathan as Samson, a Human Order of the Immortal Psion; Steve as Raith, an Eladrin Bladesinger Fighther/Wizard; Kyle as Sprout, a Goliath Nature Cleric of Primordia; and Chrissy as Azriel, an Aasimar Great Old One Warlock.

Nathan and I discuss the psion/mystic class, which he is going to playtest. We talk about how psionics will work in Primordia, and how it will interact with magic. We also discuss his character, Samson, and the Order of the Butterfly. Nathan does a great job of coming up with new lore in the world to support an Order of the Immortal psion. 

Dungeon Master Chris from the Dungeon Master’s Block podcast joins me on the show today to discuss game mastering and worldbuilding.

Today I set off again on the Obsidian Monolith to respond to your feedback and do my best to answer your questions about game mastering. These questions inculde: How do I control the pacing of my game? How do I make session notes that are easy to reference during play? How do I make published adventures not feel like a railroad? How do I make combat fast and interesting without feeling like a sepa...